The Cleveland Browns could use some wideout help if Josh Gordon's year-long suspension holds and a Mike Wallace trade with the Miami Dolphins could be an option, especially if the team has Johnny Manziel starting at some point over Brian Hoyer, as he will need some extra weapons if names like Miles Austin, Earl Bennett, Nate Burleson and Jordan Cameron can't cut it.
The Browns are reluctant to make a big trade since they are trying to build for the future and that is one reason why they haven't really been into the Andre Johnson trade rumors coming out of Houston. According to ESPN.com blogger Pat McManamon, the Browns realistically would love to replace Gordon with Johnson, but the team is not willing to mortgage the future once again for a player that is 32 years old, even if he can be a top producer at that age. The Browns may not be great this year, but they have multiple first round picks in next year's draft and they currently have the most picks right now at 10 than anyone else in the league.
The team went after Manziel later in the draft after taking Justin Gilbert with their first round selection and while he has come in as a backup to start offseason workouts, Johnny Football may end up as the starter if he can beat out Brian Hoyer. The Browns clearly are okay with Manziel taking things slow and coming in as a backup to begin with, but everyone knows that will last only so long, especially with the media being the way they have even with Manziel this year. Gordon was electric last season and losing him will be big, as he led the league with 1,646 receiving yards and also had a career high 87 catches and nine touchdowns.
Last season the Browns went just 4-12 and dealt with a number of injuries, including to Hoyer and that sidetracked the season and they ended up firing head coach Rob Chudzinski within a year of hiring him. The team ranked 11th in passing yards per game and that was in large part due to Gordon, who showed his blazing speed by leading the league in receiving yards. The Browns defense was solid against the pass, but they ranked 18th in rushing yards per game and they are hoping adding another corner will make teams push up the middle more and that could lead to some more defensive stops and with Mike Pettine coming in, the defense should improve.
Ben Tate comes in to help the rushing game and that was a mess last season even before the team traded away Trent Richardson. The team ranked 27th in rushing yards per game and Tate should help the team become more consistent on the ground and he comes in after some solid years with the Texans. The team is looking to move things along to the new era after getting rid of Brandon weeded and Richardson, as they both were picks from the last regime (or is that two regimes ago now?).
